bladescape
Club Cricketer
I know,but I removed it!
I'm not sure how it happened in the first place.
I'm not sure how it happened in the first place.
Story (05)A coach,2005 and beyond
- Thread starter bladescape
- Start date
age of the fall
International Cricketer
Not sure why I haven't commented on this very much. But Ive been following.
Bat out for the Draw, My friend!
Bat out for the Draw, My friend!
Highlander999
ICC President
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Location
- London
I'm the same as AotF. I don't know how I have kept on missing this. A lot of effort has gone into these updates and this turning into a top quality story. I am more than 100% sure that if you keep this up, the comments will flood in 
bladescape
Club Cricketer
Thanks for the comments.
I won't be able to update until Monday though.
I won't be able to update until Monday though.
bladescape
Club Cricketer
1st Test vs. Australia,Fifth Day:
Forecast:
No clouds,and very sunny,at least it gives me a chance of surviving for a draw.
Pitch:
With one big crack down the middle for the bowlers to target,this is looking tough.
Game:
The morning started rather subdued for me,with both Kallis and Smith looking to attack Lee or Gillespie.
However,the introduction of McGrath and Warne into the attack proved the opposite of the first innings.
Neither batsman tried to hit them,but they were pushing them around the field for singles without effort.
A solid 50 parternership was easily brought up.
Warne however,proved harder to continue this against then McGrath,as while both batsman were now taking some risks against him,Warne kept them easily in control.
Smith didn't approve of this turn of events,and closing in on his 50 he took a lash out at one of Warnies deliveries,which if hit properly would have steamed away to the fence,just happened to run into a fielder.3/80.
Greame Smith,caught Ponting bowled Warne for 43 from 99 deliveries with 4 fours.
That brought McKenzie to the crease,he not only had little regard for Warne,but he hit him for consecutive fours.
This couldn't last either.4/97
Neil McKenzie,bowled Warne for 11 from 9 deliveries with 2 fours.(I had him on only 2 bars of aggresion,so not sure what happened here.)
I'm missing the injured Klusener now,Boucher had to come in at 6 instead,which left me at a real disadvantage.
The two experienced batsman easily played themselves into the slow style to reach Lunch.
Lunch Break,SAfrica 4/120:
Kallis 49
Boucher 9
Lee 2/24
Warne 2/25
Second over after Lunch,Kallis got 50.
Jaques Kallis,52* from 132 deliveries.
Kallis proceeded to play solidly,but Lee finally found the right spot almost half an hour later.5/140.
Jaques Kallis,lbw Lee for 63 from 147 deliveries with 7 fours.
Pollock came in,with Boucher already struggling with Warnies spin.
Lee proved little problems to the new pair,but shortly afterwards,Warne struck again.6/148.
Mark Boucher,caught Langer bowled Warne for 21 from 65 deliveries with 4 fours.
About 15 minutes of blocking later,Steyn went.7/148.
Dale Steyn,caught Ponting bowled Warne for 0 from 14 deliveries.
Then McGrath finally picked up a wicket.8/151.
Makhaya Ntini,lbw McGrath for 1 from 6 deliveries.
A dropped chance of McGrath gave Pollock a reprieve,but Gillespie finished the job.154.
David Terbrugge,lbw Gillespie for 1 from 3 deliveries.
Scorecard:
Bowling Card:
Summery:
My thoughts:
Totally outplayed in the end.
A loss by 268 runs is a womping,and the failures were Amla,Gibbs,Steyn and Terbrugge,all the other players contributed at some point.
bladescape added 1 Minutes and 20 Seconds later...
Not sure what happened to the pictures.
Forecast:
No clouds,and very sunny,at least it gives me a chance of surviving for a draw.
Pitch:
With one big crack down the middle for the bowlers to target,this is looking tough.
Game:
The morning started rather subdued for me,with both Kallis and Smith looking to attack Lee or Gillespie.
However,the introduction of McGrath and Warne into the attack proved the opposite of the first innings.
Neither batsman tried to hit them,but they were pushing them around the field for singles without effort.
A solid 50 parternership was easily brought up.
Warne however,proved harder to continue this against then McGrath,as while both batsman were now taking some risks against him,Warne kept them easily in control.
Smith didn't approve of this turn of events,and closing in on his 50 he took a lash out at one of Warnies deliveries,which if hit properly would have steamed away to the fence,just happened to run into a fielder.3/80.
Greame Smith,caught Ponting bowled Warne for 43 from 99 deliveries with 4 fours.
That brought McKenzie to the crease,he not only had little regard for Warne,but he hit him for consecutive fours.
This couldn't last either.4/97
Neil McKenzie,bowled Warne for 11 from 9 deliveries with 2 fours.(I had him on only 2 bars of aggresion,so not sure what happened here.)
I'm missing the injured Klusener now,Boucher had to come in at 6 instead,which left me at a real disadvantage.
The two experienced batsman easily played themselves into the slow style to reach Lunch.
Lunch Break,SAfrica 4/120:
Kallis 49
Boucher 9
Lee 2/24
Warne 2/25
Second over after Lunch,Kallis got 50.
Jaques Kallis,52* from 132 deliveries.
Kallis proceeded to play solidly,but Lee finally found the right spot almost half an hour later.5/140.
Jaques Kallis,lbw Lee for 63 from 147 deliveries with 7 fours.
Pollock came in,with Boucher already struggling with Warnies spin.
Lee proved little problems to the new pair,but shortly afterwards,Warne struck again.6/148.
Mark Boucher,caught Langer bowled Warne for 21 from 65 deliveries with 4 fours.
About 15 minutes of blocking later,Steyn went.7/148.
Dale Steyn,caught Ponting bowled Warne for 0 from 14 deliveries.
Then McGrath finally picked up a wicket.8/151.
Makhaya Ntini,lbw McGrath for 1 from 6 deliveries.
A dropped chance of McGrath gave Pollock a reprieve,but Gillespie finished the job.154.
David Terbrugge,lbw Gillespie for 1 from 3 deliveries.
Scorecard:
Bowling Card:
Summery:
My thoughts:
Totally outplayed in the end.
A loss by 268 runs is a womping,and the failures were Amla,Gibbs,Steyn and Terbrugge,all the other players contributed at some point.
bladescape added 1 Minutes and 20 Seconds later...
Not sure what happened to the pictures.
Highlander999
ICC President
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Location
- London
Wow Warne ripped the heart out of you guys in both innings, showing why he is so class. Kallis batted well in the second innings, but your guys needed to take it a bit more slower.
Very good read, very enjoyable KIU
Very good read, very enjoyable
KIU
bladescape
Club Cricketer
2nd Test vs. Australia,First Day:
Teams:
SA:
Greame Smith(c)
Herschelle Gibbs
Jaques Kallis
Neil McKenzie
Jean-Paul Duminy
Ashwell Prince
Mark Boucher(wk)
Shaun Pollock(vc)
Andre Nel
Makhaya Ntini
David Terbrugge
Changes:
Hashim Amla's bad form on top of a average this year of just 17 saw him omited in favour of the as of yet untested Prince.
Duminy also got a spot because of Klusener's injury,and Nel replaced a struggling Steyn.
Aus:
Matthew Hayden
Justin Langer
Ricky Ponting(c)
Damien Martyn
Simon Katich
Adam Gilchrist(wk)(vc)
Brad Hodge
Brett Lee
Micheal Kasprowicz
Jason Gillespie
Glenn McGrath
Changes:Hodge replaces Clarke and Kasper replaces Warne,though I've yet to work out why.
Pitch:
The usual WACA bounce and pace makes it no place for errent spinners.
Toss:
Smith wins the toss again,and we'll bowl again,just because there are clouds above and their set to clear tomorrow.
Game:
Pollock and Terbrugge opened the bowling for SAfrica,and boy did they love the extra bounce,Langer got hit in the helmet by one Terbrugge bouncer,although it didn't injure him.
Pollock cause a lot more problems with edges and play and misses.
Eventually Pollock crashed through Hayden's defences to have him out for his lowest score this series,after he had a good match at the SCG.1/24.
Matthew Hayden,bowled Pollock for 14 from 29 deliveries with 2 fours.
Ponting and Langer saw Pollock out of the attack with an economy of barely over 2 an over.
Nel and Ntini were brought on,and Ntini struck last delivery of his opening over.2/44.
Justin Langer,bowled Ntini for 22 from 48 deliveries with 2 fours.
Nel didn't take long to take his first wicket for the year.3/49.
Damien Martyn,bowled Nel for 0 from 6 deliveries.
Ponting was in full flow but Katich was rather struggling,with quite a few swishes and misses.
I was surprised that Katich made lunch,with the amount of chances he was giving.
Lunch Break,Australia 3/76:
Ponting 28
Katich 10
Ntini 1/14
Pollock 1/19
Solid and slow were the ideas and they were hard to dismiss.
The only real chance after Lunch was when Boucher took a catch off Ponting,only for the umpire to call no-ball.
Ponting made hay.
Ricky Ponting,52* from 137 deliveries.
Apart from that,nothing special to report.
Tea Break,Australia 3/157:
Ponting 68
Katich 48
Ntini 1/24
Nel 1/30
First over had the excitement of.....Katich's 50.
Simon Katich,53* from 150 deliveries.
Apart from that it was the usual,stodge,block and parry.
Katich was dropped by Pollock at slip not too long afterwards,which was followed up by a breakthrough!!!Hooray.4/197.
Simon Katich,lbw Terbrugge for 66 from 189 deliveries with 5 fours.
Ponting continued without worry,but with Gilchrist.
They proceeded with some amazing boundaries here and there,until Ponting reached 99.
You never would have guessed what happened then......Gilly got out!5/222.
Adam Gilchrist,bowled Terbrugge for 14 from 35 with 2 fours.
Next over Ponting reached the hundred,from a knick past the slips!!!
Ricky Ponting,100* from 202 deliveries,his 23rd test match hundred.
Ponting was in devastating form,but apart from him and Katich,the highest score was 22!
Hodge didn't improve on that figure.6/264.
Brad Hodge,caught Boucher bowled Kallis for 16 from 30 deliveries with 3 fours.
Next delivery Lee almost joined the rest,but the lbw appeal was turned down,and that ended today's play.
Eventful and an improvement in the bowling quarter,if we can keep this up we might just win the match!!
Stumps,Australia 6/266:
Ponting 123
Lee 2
Terbrugge 2/49
Kallis 1/28
Teams:
SA:
Greame Smith(c)
Herschelle Gibbs
Jaques Kallis
Neil McKenzie
Jean-Paul Duminy
Ashwell Prince
Mark Boucher(wk)
Shaun Pollock(vc)
Andre Nel
Makhaya Ntini
David Terbrugge
Changes:
Hashim Amla's bad form on top of a average this year of just 17 saw him omited in favour of the as of yet untested Prince.
Duminy also got a spot because of Klusener's injury,and Nel replaced a struggling Steyn.
Aus:
Matthew Hayden
Justin Langer
Ricky Ponting(c)
Damien Martyn
Simon Katich
Adam Gilchrist(wk)(vc)
Brad Hodge
Brett Lee
Micheal Kasprowicz
Jason Gillespie
Glenn McGrath
Changes:Hodge replaces Clarke and Kasper replaces Warne,though I've yet to work out why.
Pitch:
The usual WACA bounce and pace makes it no place for errent spinners.
Toss:
Smith wins the toss again,and we'll bowl again,just because there are clouds above and their set to clear tomorrow.
Game:
Pollock and Terbrugge opened the bowling for SAfrica,and boy did they love the extra bounce,Langer got hit in the helmet by one Terbrugge bouncer,although it didn't injure him.
Pollock cause a lot more problems with edges and play and misses.
Eventually Pollock crashed through Hayden's defences to have him out for his lowest score this series,after he had a good match at the SCG.1/24.
Matthew Hayden,bowled Pollock for 14 from 29 deliveries with 2 fours.
Ponting and Langer saw Pollock out of the attack with an economy of barely over 2 an over.
Nel and Ntini were brought on,and Ntini struck last delivery of his opening over.2/44.
Justin Langer,bowled Ntini for 22 from 48 deliveries with 2 fours.
Nel didn't take long to take his first wicket for the year.3/49.
Damien Martyn,bowled Nel for 0 from 6 deliveries.
Ponting was in full flow but Katich was rather struggling,with quite a few swishes and misses.
I was surprised that Katich made lunch,with the amount of chances he was giving.
Lunch Break,Australia 3/76:
Ponting 28
Katich 10
Ntini 1/14
Pollock 1/19
Solid and slow were the ideas and they were hard to dismiss.
The only real chance after Lunch was when Boucher took a catch off Ponting,only for the umpire to call no-ball.
Ponting made hay.
Ricky Ponting,52* from 137 deliveries.
Apart from that,nothing special to report.
Tea Break,Australia 3/157:
Ponting 68
Katich 48
Ntini 1/24
Nel 1/30
First over had the excitement of.....Katich's 50.
Simon Katich,53* from 150 deliveries.
Apart from that it was the usual,stodge,block and parry.
Katich was dropped by Pollock at slip not too long afterwards,which was followed up by a breakthrough!!!Hooray.4/197.
Simon Katich,lbw Terbrugge for 66 from 189 deliveries with 5 fours.
Ponting continued without worry,but with Gilchrist.
They proceeded with some amazing boundaries here and there,until Ponting reached 99.
You never would have guessed what happened then......Gilly got out!5/222.
Adam Gilchrist,bowled Terbrugge for 14 from 35 with 2 fours.
Next over Ponting reached the hundred,from a knick past the slips!!!
Ricky Ponting,100* from 202 deliveries,his 23rd test match hundred.
Ponting was in devastating form,but apart from him and Katich,the highest score was 22!
Hodge didn't improve on that figure.6/264.
Brad Hodge,caught Boucher bowled Kallis for 16 from 30 deliveries with 3 fours.
Next delivery Lee almost joined the rest,but the lbw appeal was turned down,and that ended today's play.
Eventful and an improvement in the bowling quarter,if we can keep this up we might just win the match!!
Stumps,Australia 6/266:
Ponting 123
Lee 2
Terbrugge 2/49
Kallis 1/28
age of the fall
International Cricketer
Great start to the test here, you're definitely on top. Bit of a shame about the no ball wicket for Ponting but you're in great shape. Get ponting out early then clear the tail.
Oh. And hurray, they dropped Warne. There goes one thorn in your side
Oh. And hurray, they dropped Warne. There goes one thorn in your side
Last edited:
Jaztheman
Chairman of Selectors
No Warne? 
You had a terrific start but Katich supported Ponting well and Ponting is playing a captain's knock. You need to get him out early and then get quick wickets. Good start, though.
Very good work, mate.
You had a terrific start but Katich supported Ponting well and Ponting is playing a captain's knock. You need to get him out early and then get quick wickets. Good start, though.
Very good work, mate.
bladescape
Club Cricketer
2nd Test vs. Australia,Second Day:
Forecast:
Very sunny today,not much help for the bowlers with conditions.
Pitch:
The bounce is still good and the spin isn't coming currently.
Game:
Early strikes were importent,and Pollock started with Ponting dropped at slip,Terbrugge then succeeded in getting a wicket,although Ponting was still there on 123.7/266.
Brett Lee,caught G.Smith bowled Terbrugge for 2 from 4 deliveries.
Next ball was right on the money to Kasper,and the third ball of the over was even better.8/266.
Micheal Kasprowicz,caught Pollock bowled Terbrugge for 0 from 2 deliveries.
Ponting had to take it upon himself to get runs,but shortly afterwards the high bounce had him done in!9/275.
Ricky Ponting,caught Gibbs bowled Terbrugge for 132 from 244 deliveries with 17 fours.
Terbrugge got his 5-fer with that wicket.
David Terbrugge,24-5-53-5.
Pollock dug the last wicket out next over.276.
Glenn McGrath,bowled Pollock for 0 from 4 deliveries.
What a bowling performance,4 wickets with only 10 runs scored!
Scorecard:
Bowling Card:
Our innings started fairly well,until Gibbs seemed to stop getting runs.
Smith was cruising at the other end,and so there shouldn't have been pressure on anyone.
However,no-one told Gibbs that!1/38.
Herschelle Gibbs,caught & bowled Kasprowicz for 13 from 33 deliveries with 1 four.
Kallis stablised the innings and Lunch was reached without further worry.
Lunch Break,SAfrica 1/54:
Smith 27
Kallis 11
Kasprowicz 1/11
McGrath 0/9
No trouble after lunch set a good foundation for the innings,with Smith easily bringing up the 50 parternership,then the half century.
Greame Smith,50* from 115 deliveries.
With McGrath,Kasper,Lee and Gillespie doing nothing to stem the flow of runs,Ponting brought on Katich and himself,neither of which did anything past making it easier.
Jaques Kallis,50* from 96 deliveries.
Gillespie was called on again,and this time he struck.2/146.
Jaques Kallis,caught Gilchrist bowled Gillespie for 54 from 107 deliveries with 6 fours.
Lee struck soon after to have SA realling suddenly.3/148.
Neil McKenzie,bowled Lee for 1 from 7 deliveries.
And Lee strikes again.4/150.
Jean-Paul Duminy,bowled Lee for 1 from 8 deliveries.
That was the last over before tea.
Tea Break,SAfrica 4/150:
G.Smith 73
Prince 0
Lee 2/31
Gillespie 1/27
The collapse continued after tea,this time it was Smith.5/166.
Greame Smith,caught Lee bowled McGrath for 84 from 194 deliveries with 7 fours.
Prince took it upon himself to steady the innings,and both he and Boucher brought them to stumps intact.
Ashwell taking 104 deliveries to reach 24.
Stumps,SAftrica 5/220:
Prince 24
Boucher 28
Lee 2/37
McGrath 1/33
Forecast:
Very sunny today,not much help for the bowlers with conditions.
Pitch:
The bounce is still good and the spin isn't coming currently.
Game:
Early strikes were importent,and Pollock started with Ponting dropped at slip,Terbrugge then succeeded in getting a wicket,although Ponting was still there on 123.7/266.
Brett Lee,caught G.Smith bowled Terbrugge for 2 from 4 deliveries.
Next ball was right on the money to Kasper,and the third ball of the over was even better.8/266.
Micheal Kasprowicz,caught Pollock bowled Terbrugge for 0 from 2 deliveries.
Ponting had to take it upon himself to get runs,but shortly afterwards the high bounce had him done in!9/275.
Ricky Ponting,caught Gibbs bowled Terbrugge for 132 from 244 deliveries with 17 fours.
Terbrugge got his 5-fer with that wicket.
David Terbrugge,24-5-53-5.
Pollock dug the last wicket out next over.276.
Glenn McGrath,bowled Pollock for 0 from 4 deliveries.
What a bowling performance,4 wickets with only 10 runs scored!
Scorecard:
Bowling Card:
Our innings started fairly well,until Gibbs seemed to stop getting runs.
Smith was cruising at the other end,and so there shouldn't have been pressure on anyone.
However,no-one told Gibbs that!1/38.
Herschelle Gibbs,caught & bowled Kasprowicz for 13 from 33 deliveries with 1 four.
Kallis stablised the innings and Lunch was reached without further worry.
Lunch Break,SAfrica 1/54:
Smith 27
Kallis 11
Kasprowicz 1/11
McGrath 0/9
No trouble after lunch set a good foundation for the innings,with Smith easily bringing up the 50 parternership,then the half century.
Greame Smith,50* from 115 deliveries.
With McGrath,Kasper,Lee and Gillespie doing nothing to stem the flow of runs,Ponting brought on Katich and himself,neither of which did anything past making it easier.
Jaques Kallis,50* from 96 deliveries.
Gillespie was called on again,and this time he struck.2/146.
Jaques Kallis,caught Gilchrist bowled Gillespie for 54 from 107 deliveries with 6 fours.
Lee struck soon after to have SA realling suddenly.3/148.
Neil McKenzie,bowled Lee for 1 from 7 deliveries.
And Lee strikes again.4/150.
Jean-Paul Duminy,bowled Lee for 1 from 8 deliveries.
That was the last over before tea.
Tea Break,SAfrica 4/150:
G.Smith 73
Prince 0
Lee 2/31
Gillespie 1/27
The collapse continued after tea,this time it was Smith.5/166.
Greame Smith,caught Lee bowled McGrath for 84 from 194 deliveries with 7 fours.
Prince took it upon himself to steady the innings,and both he and Boucher brought them to stumps intact.
Ashwell taking 104 deliveries to reach 24.
Stumps,SAftrica 5/220:
Prince 24
Boucher 28
Lee 2/37
McGrath 1/33
Last edited:
Jaztheman
Chairman of Selectors
You are in definite control of the match, especially after the flurry of wickets in the morning. If Prince + Boucher can put on another 50 together then the tail can add another 30+ so you should easily make 300, although you need to take advantage of the bad bowling and score more.
Good work.
Good work.
bladescape
Club Cricketer
I've editted the first post to contain link to all the updates.
mattfb
Chairman of Selectors
Turbrugge was great for you, getting out Australia's 2 top run scorers and cleaning up the Aussies at the start of the day. The Saffas were going good at Lunch but then the 2nd and 3rd sessions werent great. If Boucher and Prince can put on some decent runs early tomorrow you should overtake the aussies score.
Great update mate, this is a brilliant story. kiu!
Great update mate, this is a brilliant story. kiu!
Highlander999
ICC President
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Location
- London
Prince and Boucher are quality batsmen. I am sure they can combine and build up a nice lead for you.
Great work, good effort and it shows
Great work, good effort and it shows
bladescape
Club Cricketer
2nd Test vs. Australia,Third Day:
Forecast:
Sunny,but not overly,an average day it should be with neither bat nor ball dominating.
Pitch:
The bounce is starting to deteriorate,it's becoming a pacemans wicket,no spin at all.
Game:
The day started rather fluently with Prince hitting Lee for 11 from the opening over.
Then it got back into the well known routine,with both Boucher and Prince looking to defend rather then attack.
The first chance came 40 minutes into the day's play,when Prince missed a ball coming into him which proceeded to hit him on the pads.
LBW appeal was not upheld and so Prince was free to continue.
The wicket came a little later when Boucher missed a straight delivery by McGrath which rearranged the timber.6/249.
Mark Boucher,bowled McGrath for 35 from 96 deliveries with 1 four.
Pollock hit a single first ball,and soon afterwards,he hit his first four:a length ball from McGrath which was slashed back over the bowlers head.
The next ball was hit for a single,then Prince hit four and stroked a one to reach 50.
Ashwell Prince,50* from 146 deliveries.
Pollock then started to struggle with length bowlers,Kasper and Pidgeon,but their replacements,Gillespie and Katich,gave him no problems.
Prince was playing very solidly for his first test this year,and he was established enough to guide with Pollocks help,to a first innings lead!
A while later,just a little before lunch,Prince got a fast and straight ball on a good length from Lee,which was just outside off stump.
He poked at it tentatively and it flew to Katich in the slips cordon.
Luckily Katich was still mulling over his removal from the attack because of the mauling Prince gave him and put the chance down!!!!
Lee followed it up with another one,but Prince rocked back onto the back foot and pulverized it through cover.
Lunch was the next highlight of the day!
Lunch Break,SAfrica 6/328:
Prince 80
Pollock 38
McGrath 2/56
Lee 2/62
Soon after lunch,McGrath had Prince hit on the pad,but since it was sliding down legside it wasn't out,next ball was a bit closer to the stumps and it was whipped away fine for four more.
Just a little later Lee pulled a spell out of his hat,a spell of ferocious fast bowling.
First over into it he hit Prince on the helmet TWICE!!!
A few overs later he hit Pollock!
It didn't dent the innings as the knocked up the 100 parternership.
Pollock then got 50 himself.
Shaun Pollock,50* from 89 deliveries.
Kasper however was the one to shake SA up.7/366.
Ashwell Prince,lbw Kasprowicz for 92 from 241 deliveries with 12 fours.
And again!8/366.
Andre Nel,bowled Kasprowicz for 0 from 3 deliveries.
Pollock couldn't stay either.9/366.
Shaun Pollock,caught Gilchrist bowled Gillespie for 63 from 110 deliveries with 8 fours.
We almost reached the 100 runs lead.375.
Makhaya Ntini,caught Langer bowled Katich for 3 from 18 deliveries.
Scorecard:
Bowling Card:
A few overs were bowled before tea.
Tea Break,Australia 0/15:
Hayden 9
Langer 5
Terbrugge 0/4
Pollock 0/11
Soon after tea Australia encountered it's first innings problems.1/19.
Justin Langer,caught Boucher bowled Terbrugge for 9 from 31 deliveries.
As you would expect,Terbrugge gave Ponting and Hayden trouble,down the other end a slightly tired Pollock struggled to hit the right line and length.
Nel was brought on to replace him,and immediettely got the goods.2/26.
Ricky Ponting,bowled Nel for 3 from 23 deliveries.
Hayden and Martyn easily steadied the ship,with little to report I'll skip ahead.
Matthew Hayden,50* from 119 deliveries.
Yes,Hayden had struck gold again.
Then was stumps as Australia regained the lead again,with only two wickets down.
Stumps,Australia 2/106:
Hayden 54
Martyn 38
Terbrugge 1/14
Nel 1/32
Forecast:
Sunny,but not overly,an average day it should be with neither bat nor ball dominating.
Pitch:
The bounce is starting to deteriorate,it's becoming a pacemans wicket,no spin at all.
Game:
The day started rather fluently with Prince hitting Lee for 11 from the opening over.
Then it got back into the well known routine,with both Boucher and Prince looking to defend rather then attack.
The first chance came 40 minutes into the day's play,when Prince missed a ball coming into him which proceeded to hit him on the pads.
LBW appeal was not upheld and so Prince was free to continue.
The wicket came a little later when Boucher missed a straight delivery by McGrath which rearranged the timber.6/249.
Mark Boucher,bowled McGrath for 35 from 96 deliveries with 1 four.
Pollock hit a single first ball,and soon afterwards,he hit his first four:a length ball from McGrath which was slashed back over the bowlers head.
The next ball was hit for a single,then Prince hit four and stroked a one to reach 50.
Ashwell Prince,50* from 146 deliveries.
Pollock then started to struggle with length bowlers,Kasper and Pidgeon,but their replacements,Gillespie and Katich,gave him no problems.
Prince was playing very solidly for his first test this year,and he was established enough to guide with Pollocks help,to a first innings lead!
A while later,just a little before lunch,Prince got a fast and straight ball on a good length from Lee,which was just outside off stump.
He poked at it tentatively and it flew to Katich in the slips cordon.
Luckily Katich was still mulling over his removal from the attack because of the mauling Prince gave him and put the chance down!!!!
Lee followed it up with another one,but Prince rocked back onto the back foot and pulverized it through cover.
Lunch was the next highlight of the day!
Lunch Break,SAfrica 6/328:
Prince 80
Pollock 38
McGrath 2/56
Lee 2/62
Soon after lunch,McGrath had Prince hit on the pad,but since it was sliding down legside it wasn't out,next ball was a bit closer to the stumps and it was whipped away fine for four more.
Just a little later Lee pulled a spell out of his hat,a spell of ferocious fast bowling.
First over into it he hit Prince on the helmet TWICE!!!
A few overs later he hit Pollock!
It didn't dent the innings as the knocked up the 100 parternership.
Pollock then got 50 himself.
Shaun Pollock,50* from 89 deliveries.
Kasper however was the one to shake SA up.7/366.
Ashwell Prince,lbw Kasprowicz for 92 from 241 deliveries with 12 fours.
And again!8/366.
Andre Nel,bowled Kasprowicz for 0 from 3 deliveries.
Pollock couldn't stay either.9/366.
Shaun Pollock,caught Gilchrist bowled Gillespie for 63 from 110 deliveries with 8 fours.
We almost reached the 100 runs lead.375.
Makhaya Ntini,caught Langer bowled Katich for 3 from 18 deliveries.
Scorecard:
Bowling Card:
A few overs were bowled before tea.
Tea Break,Australia 0/15:
Hayden 9
Langer 5
Terbrugge 0/4
Pollock 0/11
Soon after tea Australia encountered it's first innings problems.1/19.
Justin Langer,caught Boucher bowled Terbrugge for 9 from 31 deliveries.
As you would expect,Terbrugge gave Ponting and Hayden trouble,down the other end a slightly tired Pollock struggled to hit the right line and length.
Nel was brought on to replace him,and immediettely got the goods.2/26.
Ricky Ponting,bowled Nel for 3 from 23 deliveries.
Hayden and Martyn easily steadied the ship,with little to report I'll skip ahead.
Matthew Hayden,50* from 119 deliveries.
Yes,Hayden had struck gold again.
Then was stumps as Australia regained the lead again,with only two wickets down.
Stumps,Australia 2/106:
Hayden 54
Martyn 38
Terbrugge 1/14
Nel 1/32
Similar threads
- Poll
